Broadside regarding a new Act of Parliament

Commentary

This broadside begins: 'NEW INTENDED Act of Parliament, To be passed into a Law, on the first meeting of the Reformed Members in the House of Commons.' A brief verse then appears, followed by a list of resolutions. It was printed by Menzies of the Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, and probably sold for one penny.

Although the introduction to this document suggests a rather serious subject matter, it quickly descends into farce. Possibly in reaction to the Reform Bills of the nineteenth century, which were not considered far-reaching enough by a large proportion of the population, the author of this piece calls on the Reformed Members to consider his list of resolutions. The first proposal suggests the formation of 'henpecked societies' for all men who find themselves mistreated by their 'hard-hearted wives'. The remaining ten proposals are equally as humorous.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.